U.S. Bishops Call For ‘Nine Days Of Prayer, Penance, And Pilgrimage Surrounding 40th Anniversary Of Roe V. Wade

The U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities is urging Catholics throughout the nation to participate in Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage from 19 to 27 January to mark the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The intentions for these nine days will be for healing and conversion, for elected officials who support abortionand for all people whose lives have been forever changed by an abortion.

“The bishops recognize that prayer is the foundation of all our efforts on behalf of human life,” said Tom Grenchik, executive director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a prepared statement. “These nine days of focused prayer and sacrifice are a great opportunity for people across the nation to unite their voices in prayer to God. Through this prayer campaign, I hope that many will be blessed with a new spirit of faith and encouragement in their pro-life efforts.”

Events during the Nine Days include the National Prayer Vigil for Life (24-25 January) and the Rally and March for Life, (25 January), all being held in Washington.

Each day’s recommended novena content includes an intercession; brief prayers and a reflection; suggestions for concrete acts of prayer, penance and charity; and a abortion-related myth/reality fact. People may sign up to receive the novena daily by email by visiting the webpage Nine Days of Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage, or by text message by texting “9days” to 99000. The novena will also be posted daily on “People of Life,” the USCCB Pro-Life Secretariat’s Facebook page, and tweeted from “USCCB” on Twitter.

During the week of 22 January, USCCB is also planning to feature guest bloggers providing their personal pro-life testimonials on its blog, USCCBlog.